


With a Little Help from My Friends

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [20]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Birthday Party, F/M, Humor, Mysteries, Pregnancy, Romance, Sex, Sexual Content, Torchwood Investigates, problem solving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:13:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29927031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEIt's Pete's 50th birthday, and Jackie has thrown a party with all of Torchwood in attendance. The Doctor and Rose end up discovering some new information about their timeline/the mystery with the diamond, and they decide to go investigate Torchwood 2 with their entire group of friends.“What was his name?” he asked Rose, who just bit her lip. She had no idea either.“Does it matter? You both looked like you wanted to die,” Donna said when she was far enough away. “Also, Doctor, those bedroom eyes of yours are not subtle. Might want to pull it together.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, but his hand was back on Rose’s waist in a tender embrace, and Donna just rolled her eyes.“How’re you?” Rose asked, sending the Doctor a memory of her running her tongue along his collarbone just to tease him, and he stiffened beside her.***The turning point in the Forever With You sequel series***
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111892
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Happy Birthday, Pete

There is something to be said about _confidence._

His wife had always had it, and it was always something that drove him absolutely insane. Sometimes it hid under a layer of doubt, especially in the first year they traveled together, but it always came out when needed, like when she called Cassandra a bitchy trampoline or when she told Henry Van Statten she’d slap him. 

In their second year traveling, it grew in strength to the point where she laughed in a Dalek’s face. After the parallel world it retreated for a while, until her instincts woke it back up, and by the time they were married, she was a glowing goddess all aflame, with new found confidence following her everywhere she went. 

She believed in _them_ so much it took his breath away. 

For the last two years, he genuinely thought it couldn’t get any more intoxicating, the way she had grown to trust herself and the way that trust bled into their relationship, but he was wrong. He was watching her now, at 22 ½ weeks pregnant, catching the attention of literally everyone at this party they were forced to attend, her confidence so illuminating it was nearly blinding. 

Glowing, that’s what she was. Absolutely radiant. 

It was a black-tie event, so he was dressed in his tuxedo and bowtie, his hair extra tousled for her benefit, and she was wearing an emerald green gown with a low cut neckline that she paired with a simple pearl necklace, and one word was swimming in his mind. 

Sexy. 

She was all he could think about, and his hand, which had started the night on her upper back, was now resting centimeters above her bum as they chatted with a man whose name neither could remember, and whose words he wasn’t paying any attention to. 

His hand slipped a little bit lower. 

_Careful, mister._

_I’m being nothing but careful, trust me._

She smirked at him as he sniffed, realizing he’d been staring at her, and he turned his head toward the man, some data specialist at Torchwood, remembering why they were there. 

Pete’s 50th birthday. 

He looked down at his feet, deciding that _forced_ was too harsh of a word. He was happy to be there, he was, it's just that Jackie had surprised them with the party last minute, and he just had no idea it would be this formal or that this many people would be staring at his wife. She was the apple of everyone’s eye, and it was incredibly arousing in a way that felt entirely too human for him to begin to comprehend, and he looked away from the man to peer around the room, where nearly one hundred Torchwood agents (and a few friends) were walking around the Tyler residence. 

If he didn’t know better, he’d say this house was bigger on the inside. 

Rose forced a laugh, snapping him back to the conversation and he lifted his hand off her bum, which he just noticed he was squeezing slightly, and she just shared a glance with him, her eyes begging him to get her out of this room. He bit his cheek and looked across the way, where Donna was laughing with Gwen, and he caught her eye, silently asking her for help, too. 

“There you two are!” she shouted, coming and grabbing a hold of Rose’s arm. “So sorry to steal them away, but Mrs. Tyler needs some help. Asked me to grab Rose. You don’t mind, do you?” 

“Not at all,” the man said, and the Doctor just now noticed his handlebar mustache, which looked like it was eating half of his face and he coughed to hide a laugh, clearing his throat at the end. “Congratulations again, on the baby.” 

“Thank you,” the Doctor said, and Rose just held his hand as Donna pulled them along. 

“What was his name?” he asked Rose, who just bit her lip. She had no idea either. 

“Does it matter? You both looked like you wanted to die,” Donna said when she was far enough away. “Also, Doctor, those bedroom eyes of yours are not subtle. Might want to pull it together.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, but his hand was back on Rose’s waist in a tender embrace, and Donna just rolled her eyes. 

“How’re you?” Rose asked, sending the Doctor a memory of her running her tongue along his collarbone just to tease him, and he stiffened beside her. 

_That’s not fair._

_Play your cards right, baby._

He felt his groin pulse and his breath hitched, and Donna stared at them, aware they were up to something. 

She always knew. 

“You know I’m standing right here, right?” she asked, grabbing a glass of champagne from a tray, and Rose smiled.

“We’re not doing anything,” she said. 

“Not outwardly,” Donna remarked, and Rose bit her lip again, making Donna roll her eyes. “Honestly between you and Jack and Ianto -” 

“What? Where?” Rose asked, and Donna tilted her head over to the piano Jackie insisted on renting that no one was playing, where they all saw Jack snogging Ianto against the wall, and the Doctor frowned. 

“I mean that’s just inappropriate,” he muttered, hearing the hypocrisy the moment the words left his mouth and choosing not to care. Donna, however, slapped his arm. “Ow!” 

“Oi, watch it, spaceman,” she said. 

“Oi, watch it, earthgirl!” he teased back, and Rose just started laughing. 

“Both of you, go, do something else,” she said, slipping her hand out the Doctor’s with a wink, and he sighed as Donna began to banter and tease him some more, and he bantered right back, on a mission to find food of some sort. The Doctor glanced back at Rose. 

_Are you kicking me out?_

_You’re distracting me. Impossibly._

He smiled seductively at her just before he turned the corner to the kitchen, and he sent her such a large wave of love it made her breathless. She ran a hand along her belly, looking back over at Jack and Ianto with a small smile, and she began to people watch. 

Tony was playing with some other kids in the playroom, and she could hear him telling them about his favorite uncle. She bit her lip and moved to the door frame to watch for a moment, when she was suddenly hit by a flash of a potential timeline, and she saw Tony hugging a small blonde head, and she gripped the handle of the door for support. 

The Doctor had seen it, and she could feel his smile from the other room. 

_Oh, Rose…_

_I know._

She waved to Tony when he noticed she was there, and he ran up to her, catching her in a hug. 

“Can you still pick me up?” he asked, and Rose just laughed, scooping him into her arms. 

“Course I can,” she said. “You just have to stop growing, yeah?”

Tony laughed and hugged her, his arms around her neck and she squeezed him, putting him back down on the ground so he could play with his friends some more, and she eventually walked away, her mind wandering. 

It had been ten days since they saved Martha and Mickey from a mutated Bigfoot and accidentally discovered their relationship (which everyone now knew about and seemed to be thrilled by). It was also ten days since they found a key that they were certain had something to do with the diamonds/wolves/Kosmos Society, and she and the Doctor had been trying to figure out their next move. 

Martha and Mickey had stayed with them until they arrived back in London that morning, and they had dealt with a couple of other smaller problems in the last week, but they also got to go on some rather wonderful double dates. It was a domestic tradition that made the Doctor happy, she knew, even though he’d probably never admit it, and she began to play with her earring as she went over all of it again in her head; every single day and every single clue, and she jumped a little when she felt the Doctor touch her arm. 

“Sorry,” he said. “Brought you food.” 

“Love you,” she murmured, and he kissed her forehead, handing her a plate and watching for a moment as she began to eat some pasta. 

“We’ll figure out what to do, Rose,” he whispered. “I promise.” 

“Forgot you could hear me,” she muttered, taking another bite. 

“No, you didn’t,” he said with a smile, and she smiled back. 

“No,” she said. “Just hard to focus on things like Pete’s birthday when there’s all this other stuff, you know?” 

“Well, it would help if he would emerge from his office,” the Doctor teased, his eyes dancing with Rose’s. “He’s been in there for an hour. People are forgetting why they’re here.”

“You’re just saying that because you forgot, aren’t you?” she asked, and he gave her a look. 

“I didn’t forget,” he corrected, “I was distracted by my extraordinarily beautiful wife and the way she looks in this extraordinarily beautiful dress.” 

She took another bite of pasta as his eyes started to linger on her chest, and she set the plate down next to her so she could wrap her arms around his neck. 

“Donna’s right,” she whispered. “Bedroom eyes are _not_ subtle.” 

“Don’t want them to be,” he said softly, his voice much lower than it had been a moment ago. “Everyone is staring at you, and...well…” 

“What?” she asked. He just brushed his hand across her back, creating goosebumps on her arms. 

“I...It might be stupid, but...I like knowing I’m the one you’ll go home with. And I like that they all know it, too,” he whispered. 

“That’s rather...human, isn’t it?” she flirted, her tongue tucked in her teeth. He kissed her, his lips brushing hers in a way that made her entire stomach fill with butterflies. “Doctor…” 

“I want you,” he said, surprising himself a little at how urgent his voice sounded. “That okay?” 

“We can probably sneak away,” Rose said. “We just can’t make it obvious, so we’ll have to be...creative.” 

The smile he gave her rocked her world. 

“Is that a challenge, Rose Tyler?” he said. 

“Maybe,” she flirted, and he made a small noise that rumbled low in his chest as their flirting began to reach the level that was nearly impossible to come back from, and he traced small fingers on her arms. 

“I can think of...two, no...three ways we can both...well...and you never even have to take off your dress,” he murmured huskily. 

“Prove it,” she moaned, and he was kissing her again, when he suddenly felt a hand on the back of his head. “Donna, we’re -”

“No better than bloody teenagers,” Jackie said, and Rose bit her lip as the Doctor sighed. 

“Hello, Jackie,” he said, and his mother-in-law just hit his head again. “Watch the hair.”

“Watch the hands,” she said, pointing to his palms that were rather close to Rose’s breasts. “Not here, you got that?” 

He didn’t say anything as Jackie rolled her eyes and kissed Rose’s cheek, before she was immediately pulled into a conversation with one of Pete’s colleagues, and Rose started laughing. 

“Eyes like a hawk,” he whispered and she bit her lip. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “We can still head upstairs.” 

“No. She’ll barge in, can already picture it. Not something I want to experience,” he muttered. “We’ll just…” 

“Later?” Rose asked breathily, and he groaned. 

“Oh, yes,” he said, kissing her once more before he was hit on the head again. He pulled away with a sigh and another glare from Jackie, but there was a small ghost of a smile on her face that told them both she wasn’t _that_ upset, and he stepped away from Rose, looking back around the room. 

Gwen was chatting with Jack and Ianto, who had come up for air. Martha and Mickey were roped into a conversation with a few younger agents, and Pete had come out of his office, now laughing with some of his colleagues and drinking some wine. 

Everyone was talking to someone, except for one person the Doctor noticed sitting at the top of the stairs, nibbling on a carrot like a rabbit. He squeezed Rose’s hand, and she glanced up, too. 

“Oh, she looks miserable,” she said. The Doctor just chuckled. 

“We should go say hi,” he said. Rose nodded and they made their way to Mona, who looked very surprised to see them. “Hello.” 

“Hi,” she said, almost like a deer caught in the headlights. “Sorry, am I not allowed up here or-” 

“No, it’s fine,” Rose said. “Just coming to say hi.” 

Mona nodded, letting out a breath, and Rose tilted her head to the side a little as she looked at her. She looked older than she realized that day a few months ago, perhaps in her mid to late forties, and her curly brown hair was pulled back with a clip. Her blue eyes looked nervous, and she was beginning to play with the hem of her shirt. 

“Are you alright?” Rose asked. She nodded. 

“I’m...not a party person,” she said with her Scottish accent, looking down at her feet. “I’m sorry. That’s rude. He’s your Dad…” 

“It’s okay,” Rose said, smiling at her. “He’s not really a party person, either. This was my Mum’s idea. Why do you think he was hiding out for an hour?” 

Mona laughed a little and Rose moved to sit beside her. The Doctor sat down next to her, and Mona continued to nibble on her vegetables, watching the party. 

There was an awkward silence for many moments. 

“You two intimidate me,” she admitted. “All of Torchwood talks about you.” 

“Well,” the Doctor said. “It sort of exists because of us. Guess that’s to be expected.” 

“What?” Mona asked, laughing just a little, and Rose rolled her eyes. 

“He’s kidding,” she said. “Kind of. He’s not...wrong. You didn’t know?”

“No...I…” she said. “Of course I do. It’s just...I sort of exist because of you, too, and so...hearing you say that out loud was dizzying.” 

Rose glanced at the Doctor who cleared his throat. “What do you mean?” 

“My great great great grandmother,” Mona said. “You saved her. She was so inspired by you, Rose, she ended up joining Torchwood just after it was founded. She was the first female agent.”

“She knew Queen Victoria?” Rose asked, and Mona nodded. 

“Yeah, I s’pose she did,” she said, nibbling on a carrot again. 

“What was her name?” the Doctor asked calmly, even though his hearts were starting to beat faster, feeling like they were about to be handed a piece of the puzzle. 

“Flora,” Mona said, and Rose grabbed the Doctor’s arm. He smiled. 

“Really?” he asked, and Mona just nodded. 

“You saved her right? It was a story that was passed down through my family. I knew I wanted to be a Torchwood agent from the time I was about five years old,” she said. “So...you intimidate me.” 

The Doctor and Rose both laughed, and it was infectious. Mona began to laugh, too, and Rose just shook her head as it subsided. 

“Well, don’t worry about that,” she said. Mona looked at her, finishing her vegetables. 

_We could ask her about the diamonds…_

_We still don’t really know her._

_She works with Jack and Gwen and Mickey, Rose. And she’s related to Flora. It feels...She might be the only one who might know something._

Rose just looked at him, and she sighed. He nodded. 

“Do you know if Flora ever dealt with anything to do with a Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform?” she asked. Mona’s brow creased. 

“A werewolf? Does this have something to do with the diamond you brought Jack?” she asked. “No one told me much, but I saw it on his desk. I’m sorry.” 

“No, it’s fine,” the Doctor said. “Maybe.” 

Mona looked at them and clasped her hands together, and she just shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’m sorry. I know she worked hard to convince the first group of agents that you both didn’t deserve to be banished and weren’t a threat. I can try to look into it, if you’d like.” 

“Well, that’s something,” the Doctor said kindly. “And it must have worked, considering where we are now.” They all laughed a little, and the Doctor just sighed. “Jack and Mickey searched for weeks. If there was something in old files I’m sure they’d have found it.” 

He didn’t mean for it to sound condescending, but it did, and Mona looked slightly crestfallen. Rose touched her arm, recognizing this woman was quiet and meek and still a little intimidated, much as Flora was all those years ago. 

“That would be great,” Rose said. “Can’t hurt to have another set of eyes looking. Thank you.” 

Mona stared at her, and the Doctor smiled to himself, watching as Rose’s compassion guided her and eased Mona instantly, who was starting to smile back. “Sure. I’ll talk to Jack and Mickey about it.” 

The Doctor kissed Rose’s head as they all looked back at the party, and Rose saw Jackie waving her over. 

“That’s our cue,” Rose said. “It was nice to actually talk for a bit, Mona.”

“You too,” she said. The Doctor helped Rose stand, and Mona smiled when she noticed her stomach. “Do you know if it's a boy or girl?” 

“Girl,” Rose said, and Mona smiled wider. 

“Congratulations,” she said. “One lucky baby.” 

“Thank you,” Rose said, but the Doctor nudged her when Jackie was starting to grow impatient, and Rose just sighed. “Oh, my God, Mum! I’m five and half months pregnant! Give me a minute!” 

“OI!’ Jackie shouted, and the room started to laugh as Rose and the Doctor made their way down stairs until they reached the middle of the living room, where Jackie had started to ask all their guests to gather around. Tony was resting on her hip and Pete was standing next to her, and she just smiled as Rose and the Doctor approached. 

“Thank you all so much for coming,” she said, “When I first told Pete I wanted to do a party for him, he rolled his eyes.” 

The room laughed, and Pete rolled his eyes again, as if helping to make his wife’s point. Jackie continued. 

“I don’t know how many of you know our story,” she said. “But twenty six years ago, I married Pete Tyler in this universe, and we had my beautiful daughter Rose a couple of years later.” 

Jackie reached over and grabbed Rose’s hand, who gave her mother a small smile and squeezed. The Doctor, and everyone else, watched. 

“Well, as life happens….Pete died when Rose was a baby, and...I raised her on my own. I didn’t need anyone else, didn’t want anyone else, and that was that. But then, almost six years ago we met a man called the Doctor,” Jackie said, her eyes starting to brim with tears. Everyone looked at him, and he clenched his jaw. “He was this sassy, confusing alien who wore a stupid leather jacket and he took my daughter away from me. Led her to the stars. God knows I hated him for it. But...oh...that daft alien has turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to our family.” 

“Jackie -” the Doctor started to say, not wanting this moment to be about him at all, but she ignored him. 

“They’re mad, of course, the pair of them, but then again...So are all of you. Fighting aliens all day. Anyway, eventually they somehow fell into a parallel universe and they met my Pete. With Mickey! Oh, sweetheart, get over here.” 

Mickey made a small embarrassed face as he kissed Martha’s cheek and walked up to stand by Rose and the Doctor, forever an honorary Tyler. Rose smiled at him. 

“Well, anyway...Oh, where was I?” she said, and Mickey tried to remind her, but she remembered first and just clapped her hands. “Yes! Flash forward a few months and...oh, I think we all remember the Cyberman and I know we all know what happened on that terrible day...and I don’t want to dwell on that. My point isn’t about that, my point is...Oh, bloody hell…” 

She was crying, and Pete kissed her as he handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose into it. Rose felt emotional watching, and she began to rub her mother’s arm gently. 

“My point is that I never thought I would get the chance to throw Pete a 50th birthday party, and the fact that I get to is just... barking mad. And it’s all because of that man right there. My son-in-law,” she said, looking over at the Doctor. “Doctor, I could keep talking about all the ways you’ve changed our lives but...you gave me my husband, and now we have Tony, and you and Rose…” 

“Stop,” the Doctor said softly, giving her a small smile, and Pete pulled Jackie into a hug. 

“Believe it or not she wrote all this out first,” he said to everyone, and the room broke into laughter again. “But she’s right. This entire night has felt….it’s been a lot to process. I had to run away, for a bit. I was just...Seeing all of you, realizing just how lucky I am...From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for coming. But mostly, we wanted to take a moment to thank the Doctor.”

“Don’t you dare,” the Doctor said, his voice thick, and Pete just smiled at him. 

“I know it’s my birthday, mate, but...well, in case we don’t say it often enough. We love you. Thank you,” he said. 

The Doctor looked at him, and he nodded once, his throat feeling incredibly tight. Jackie had reigned her tears in just a little and she held up a glass of champagne, and everyone except the Doctor and Rose held up their glasses, too. 

He decided if she couldn’t drink, neither would he. 

Marriage. 

“To my husband, Happy Birthday,” Jackie said. 

“Happy Birthday!” the room erupted, and a group of caterers brought a cake in on a rolling cart, all the candles lit around the edges. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday,” and Rose looked at the Doctor as Pete blew the candles out, and she squeezed his hand. 

“You alright?” she asked. He nodded. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she said, and he kissed her, cupping her cheek in his palm as Jackie insisted everyone continue to have fun, and cake was starting to be served. Over the next couple of hours, the crowd began to trickle out with kisses and hugs and relief that the party wasn’t interrupted by some sort of alien invasion, and before they all could really process it, Jackie and Pete were tucking Tony in way past his normal bedtime, and Rose was trying to help clean up, shoving cups and paper plates into a trash bag. 

“Sit down, please?” the Doctor asked, taking it from her, and she shook her head. 

“I’m fine,” she said. “Don’t want to make Mum have to do it all tomorrow.” 

“I’ll call a cleaning service and then you can both sit,” Mickey said. “He’s right. Relax.”

“Both of you, shut it, I’m fine,” Rose said, walking to the other side of the room to put more trash into a new bag. Mickey looked at Martha, who just shook her head, choosing to stay out of it, and Donna, who was still there as well, began to help Rose rather than tell her what to do. 

The others all got involved as well. 

Jack, Ianto, Gwen, and Mona all walked into the room too, about to say goodbye, but when they saw everyone else cleaning they each grabbed a trash bag and gathered up items too. Everyone was trying to understand how a group of specially trained agents could leave behind such a behemoth of a mess, and they all began to joke about it, banter and laughter filling the air. 

Rose felt a hand on her shoulder after a few minutes and she turned around to see her mother staring at her, giving her a knowing look. 

“Not you, too. I’m fine,” she said. 

“Sit,” Jackie said, and Rose looked at the Doctor who just sniffed and returned to the pile he was collecting, and Rose collapsed on the couch with a huff. “Your back will thank you tomorrow, sweetheart.” 

“Been pregnant for a while, Mum, I think I -” Rose started to say, but Jackie just gave her a look and she sighed, leaning her head back against the pillow. 

She really, really didn’t like having her decisions made for her. Big or small. 

“Thank you all for cleaning up,” Jackie said. “You didn’t have to.” 

“Our pleasure,” Jack said. “You throw a hell of a party.” 

“You’re one to talk,” she teased, and Jack winked at her. The Doctor grimaced, aware there was nothing flirtatious about that exchange, but it was still Jack and Jackie, and it made him feel weird. His eyes met Rose’s who was still sulking on the couch and she just chuckled, trying to ignore the fact that the longer she sat down the more sore her body was feeling, and she realized everyone was right to make her rest. 

The Doctor sighed, able to hear her thoughts and feel her stiffness in his mind and he set his bag down on the ground and walked over to her, rubbing her shoulders slowly. Everyone noticed but no one said anything, and Jackie mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him. 

“You are all welcome to stay if you’d like, but I’m going to bed. Goodnight sweetheart,” Jackie said, kissing Rose’s head and squeezing the Doctor’s arm. 

“Night, Mum,” she said. 

“It was so good to see you. All of you,” Gwen murmured, yawning. 

“You too,” the Doctor said, moving his hands to the base of Rose’s neck, who was trying not to moan. 

“I was speaking with Rose and the Doctor earlier,” Mona said, her voice shaking a little as if she wasn’t used to being the one to make announcements. “I was wondering...did you check Torchwood 2’s files when you were looking for information on the diamonds?” 

Jack’s eyes flashed to the Doctor, who just nodded, telling him it was okay, and he cleared his throat. 

“We checked the database,” he said. “Why?” 

“Well...I was just thinking…When Torchwood was founded, the Torchwood Estate was headquarters until the London office opened, right? That was the late 19th century, way before computers, and...there might be something there. Something that isn’t in the shared database,” she said. Jack just looked at her. 

“Do you know if there is something there?” he asked a little suspiciously, aware that Mona was the one who had spent any quality time at the office in Scotland. She shrugged. 

“I have no idea,” she said. “But I remember you said the diamonds were crafted in 1881, I just...it makes me wonder if whoever made them hid something at the Estate. That’s all.” 

“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Mickey asked, and Mona just rubbed her hands together nervously. 

“I...it’s not my place, I didn’t think,” she said. “I’m still a guest at Torchwood 3. I wasn’t even sure what exactly you were looking for. No one ever asked and I didn’t want to overstep.” 

Rose watched Mona carefully, seeing so much of Flora in her it almost felt like déja-vu, and Jack looked at Gwen, who had a knowing smirk on her face. 

“Told you she’s good,” Gwen said. “I keep saying it.” 

“Yeah,” Jack said. He took a deep breath and he looked at Rose and the Doctor who were holding hands. 

“We have to be quiet about it,” the Doctor said. “Rose and I were threatened a couple months ago. A man named Robert, said someone is watching us who knows about our daughter.”

“What?” Jack asked furiously, and Ianto grabbed his hand. 

“He’s just a pawn,” he said. “We’re pretty sure he’s connected to something called the Kosmos Society.” 

“What’s that?” Donna asked, and Rose rubbed her lips together, feeling quite happy to finally be able to share all of this with everyone. 

“Scientists,” she said. “We found them in 1989. They had created this educational satellite for kids. All about science and space and time. The man in charge is related to the man who seems to be behind the diamonds in some way. We still aren’t sure how.” 

“A satellite?” Jack asked. “So...what, they can travel the Vortex?” The Doctor just looked at him, and Jack groaned. “Why can’t people just stay on Earth?” 

They all looked at each other, and laughter erupted. It was such a full sound it made Rose’s eyes water, and she leaned her head on the Doctor’s shoulder as they all crafted their plan. 

“No one is ever at Torchwood 2 but me, really,” Mona said. “Staying quiet will be easy. Promise.” 

“Thank you,” the Doctor said, and everyone in the room noticed his hand was absent-mindedly on Rose’s belly, and it made them all smile. “What?” 

“Nothing,” Jack said. “Just...Fatherhood looks good on you.” 

The Doctor looked down at his hand and swallowed. 

“We’re going to call her Alice,” he said, unsure what made him feel the need to tell them all that now. “That was my sister’s name.” 

There was a look in Mona’s eye that broke Rose’s heart, and she watched as she looked away quickly, and everyone else just stared at them. 

“You had a sister?” Donna whispered, and the Doctor didn’t say anything. 

“It’s a beautiful name,” Martha said, and no one else quite knew where to go from there. Rose looked at the Doctor whose jaw was starting to clench, and she rubbed his hand. 

_Breathe._

_I’m fine, Rose._

“Tomorrow, then? If you’re all up for it?” he asked, changing the subject entirely. 

“Absolutely,” Jack said. 

They all said goodnight. Donna let Gwen and Mona stay with her at her flat and Martha took Mickey back to hers, and Jack and Ianto slept in Jack’s room on the TARDIS. The Doctor and Rose gave him a quick tour, laughing with Jack at the wide eyed expression his boyfriend had on his face the entire time, and then left them to their own devices, trusting Jack completely as they walked upstairs to the guest room. 

She forced herself to brush her teeth and wash her face, and he was taking his tux off when she walked back into the room wearing a t-shirt that couldn’t quite fit over her growing belly and some sweatpants. 

“Where did you get that?” he asked, laughing. She looked down, also laughing, and she just shrugged. 

“Mum,” she said. “She’s had it for forever. Found it in the closet.” 

“I knew she was a fan but…” he said, and Rose just rolled her eyes. 

Cliff Richard’s face was smiling back at him as he looked at the shirt, and he smirked. 

“You think it's a good idea? Everyone coming with us?” he asked a little more seriously, and she nodded, crawling into bed on her left side. 

“Yeah,” Rose hummed. “Had a feeling when we saw Martha and Mickey it was just a matter of time before we needed help. I give birth in three months, we won’t be able to really investigate for a bit afterwards. We just need to do it. See what happens.” 

“Quite right,” he whispered, looking over at her, and she closed her eyes, yawning. He sniffed and moved to the loo, brushing his own teeth and getting ready for bed, and when he walked into the room, she was singing. 

His world stopped. 

“Come here,” she said with a smile, and he found himself sitting down next to her, unaware of how he got his legs to move, and before he could ask her where she heard the song, she placed his hands on her exposed belly, and continued the chorus. 

He felt a kick. 

His eyes locked with Rose’s, and she continued to sing, the melody and the syllables filling the air, and the baby kicked again. 

He was entirely overwhelmed, and he was having a hard time holding himself together. It was a combination of a lot of things, of course. Jackie’s speech was still ringing in his ears, and his hearts were still pounding from telling their friends her name. His head was spinning beyond compare hearing Rose sing _that_ song, and feeling his daughter kick was just… 

He let out a small sob, and Rose smiled up at him, still singing. 

“Hello,” the Doctor whispered, moving to kiss her belly. “Oh, hello.” 

Rose stopped singing for a moment, captivated by the way her husband looked. His face was softer than she could ever remember seeing it, even in all their declarations of love, and the smile of amazement he was giving her stomach was making her heart skip multiple beats at once. His fingers brushed her skin, and he looked up at Rose with tear stained cheeks he couldn’t even pretend to be embarrassed about, and she smiled. 

“Where did you hear that song?” he asked softly. 

“I dreamed it,” she said. “Why?” 

He clenched his jaw and shook his head, returning his attention to her stomach. 

“Will you keep singing?” he asked, and she rubbed her lips together, starting over from the top. 

It was such a series of “oohs” that she was humming, soft and melodic, and it made their daughter kick again. She laughed at the sensation, and the Doctor pulled her into a hug, holding her so close he could feel her heartbeat in his chest. 

“Are you alright?” she asked. He nodded. 

“Yes,” he said. “That was a lullaby. On Gallifrey. My mother used to sing it. I…”

She pulled out of the hug, staring at him. He just looked at her, his jaw clenching a little, and she darted her eyes over his face, making sure he actually was alright and wasn’t just trying to make her feel better. He smiled, his hand still on her tummy, and he kissed her. 

His impossible human. 

“I didn’t know,” she said. “I just thought it was pretty. It’s been in my head, I -” 

“Oh, no, it’s gorgeous,” he murmured. “I just haven’t heard it in a very long time, Rose. And the fact that...the fact _that_ is what she responded to, it just…” 

“Takes after her Daddy?” she whispered, and he let out a shaky breath. 

“Something like that,” he murmured. 

He wasn't alone. 

“My Doctor,” she said, cupping his cheek with her hand.

He smiled at her, “I love you.” He hugged her again, closing his eyes. She rubbed his back, and he peppered kisses on her temple. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she cried softly, and it was all still hitting him, just how incredibly lucky he was. His Wife. His best friend.

He wanted to make love to her more than anything else in that moment. 

“Rose…” he panted, and before she responded he was slipping his hand under her much too small t-shirt, and she let out a gasp, lying back down on the mattress. 

“Can we?” he asked, his voice breathless. 

“Bout time,” she teased, her tongue in the corner of her mouth. “Been thinking about it since before the toast.” 

He smiled at her, catching her in another kiss, and he moved to pull her shirt up over her head, when he stopped for a moment, a memory flashing in his head, and he tugged it up, revealing her bare chest to him. He started to rub her body, his mouth open as his breathing grew heavier. 

“You going my way, doll?” he asked, and she bit her lip, glancing down at the t-shirt that was now by the foot of the bed. 

“Is there any other way to go, Daddy-o?” she whispered, and she pulled him to her, kissing him fiercely, and he rolled them both onto their sides, knowing she shouldn’t be on her back for too long. The kisses grew longer and more languid, and he dipped his fingers into her, sliding and wriggling, and she cried out. 

“Shhh,” he said, laughing, and she just shook her head. 

“Can’t,” she told him. “Feels too good.” 

“Does it?” he groaned, adding another finger, and she gripped the pillow she was laying on. He was inching her closer and closer, and just before she exploded he stopped, replacing his fingers with something much more satisfying. 

They both made a similar, gargled groan, and their minds opened, able to hear everything the other was thinking and feel each sensation that coursed through them, head to toe, and they fell together against the trickle of moonlight, panting and heaving. They were a messy ball of limps, and Rose pressed her forehead to his chest. 

“How long after birth do we have to wait to do that again?” she asked. He laughed. 

“A while,” he said softly. She just sighed. 

“You’ll still want to, though?” she whispered. “I know my body might -”

“Stop,” he said, kissing her lips. “Stop. Of course I’ll want to.” 

“Yeah?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he said against her lips, kissing her again. “Don’t ever worry about that.” 

She nodded, laying her head on his chest, and he began to trace her name in Gallifreyan on his shoulder. She sighed. 

“Her kicks feel funny,” she said, and he smiled. 

“Do they hurt?” he asked. She shook her head. 

“No,” she mused. “Not yet. Just sort of feels...I dunno. Funny.” 

“Can I try?” he asked, and she looked up at him. She nodded, and he slowly began to sing the lullaby, the soft “oohs” in a gentle melody filling the air again, but she stayed still. He just shrugged. “Worth a shot.” 

“I bet she’ll do it,” she said, yawning. “I have faith.” 

He looked at her for a moment before they somehow managed to put their clothes back on, and they drifted off to sleep after a small bit of playful banter, ready for whatever the following day may hold. 

He saw his mother’s face in his dream.


	2. Secrets and Lies

The moment they stepped off the TARDIS in the courtyard at the Torchwood Estate, Rose and the Doctor were hit by a strange sense of nostalgia. 

They were just there three weeks ago, one hundred and thirty one years in the past. 

It looked mostly the same, at least on the outside, and Rose glanced over at the stables and grass where they had found Mr. Townes as Mona unlocked the doors and let them all inside. 

This part, however, felt entirely different. 

Many of the rooms had been demolished, as if once it became a place a business to help protect the British Empire from aliens, the estate had to be completely remodeled and stripped off all of its charm. The floor was now metal, and it felt much more industrial and modern. Mona was leading them around, showing them the main offices, rambling. 

She was nervous, they could all tell, probably feeling like this was her moment to prove herself to her team. She had been a little scattered ever since she realized they were all traveling here in the TARDIS, and it didn’t help matters when the ship didn’t seem to like having so many people on board and slammed the doors before she was able to step through the archway. 

She kept telling them she felt like a burden, and Rose just told her to stop, convincing the TARDIS to quit being moody before she flashed Mona one of her infectious smiles, the same one she had given Flora, and they all paced and made small talk as they circled the Vortex, eventually arriving here. 

Rose’s hand was gripping the Doctor’s tightly, both determined but also sort of feeling like this might not lead to anything, and they just continued to walk around, letting themselves take it all in slowly. 

“So, the Queen had this place emptied out in 1879, according to records,” Mona said as she led them up the stairs. “There is one room that was untouched at the very top of the building. It's the-” 

“Observatory,” the Doctor said, finishing her sentence. Mona nodded. “Can we take a look?” 

“Of course,” she said. 

They all kept moving up the stairs, flashes of both of their past visits hitting Rose as they did, and as they stepped forward into the large room with the telescope, she could practically feel the memory of the sexual tension between her and the Doctor still sitting in the corner, before she saw the spot where Patrick Townes begged them to "let him go." 

The Doctor moved to the telescope, marveling over how it still looked exactly the same. “Are you preserving this?” 

“Sort of,” Mona said with a laugh. “I’ve only been up here a few times. I used to clean it fairly often, though, it just seemed too important.” 

“How much do you know about that day? The one that led the Queen to found Torchwood?” Rose asked, and Mona sighed. 

“Just what my family told me and what is in the reports,” she said. “There was a wolf or something, and you two were there. The Queen banished you, thinking you were both alien, too.” 

“Well,” the Doctor said, tilting his head to the side. “She wasn’t wrong.”

“Yes, she was,” Mona said. The Doctor just looked at her, and she rubbed her hands together. “Sorry.”

“No, backbone,” he said. “Use it. It’s good.” 

“Yes, sir,” she said, and he made a face, almost saying the only person he wanted to hear say those words to him was Rose, but he knew Jack would make some sort of innuedo, so he didn’t. 

Rose smirked at him. 

“This was built by Robert MacLeish’s father,” the Doctor said. “He owned the Estate before the Queen. They called him eccentric, but, well… I think he was brilliant. This is what stopped the wolf. Well, that and the Koh-I-Noor...”

“Do you hear yourself when you speak?” Donna teased, and he just shot her a look, making everyone chuckle a little. 

“I’m not surprised she didn’t touch this room,” Rose said, brushing her hand along the wheel she and the Doctor worked so hard to turn. “Are there any others like this?” 

“No,” Mona said. “Every bedroom is now some sort of storage or training unit. Though, once the London office opened most everything transferred there. Much more centrally located than this place. The only reason it hasn’t been sold or demolished is because it was in the Queen’s will to keep intact. We’re all doing our patriotic duty by keeping it here.”

“What did you just say?” the Doctor asked suddenly, spinning on his heels to look at her. She just shook her head. 

“That the Queen didn’t want this place destroyed?” she asked. He just stared at her.

“Patriotic duty...who told you that?” he asked. Mona shook her head. 

“It’s what I was told when I joined the team,” she said. 

“From who?” he pressed again, and Jack looked between him and Mona carefully. She sighed. 

“It’s just part of the swearing in process at this branch,” she said. “A little note about the importance of the building and swearing to protect it since it meant so much to the Queen. I know it seems silly, but -” 

“No,” Rose said. “Not silly. We’ve just heard it before.” 

“What?” she asked, but Rose shared a glance with the Doctor and didn’t answer her. Jack cleared his throat. 

“Should we go take a look at the servers then? Maybe try to find any old records or evidence or something?” he offered, sensing tension building. The Doctor nodded. 

“Yeah,” he said, sniffing. “Allons-y.” 

Mona watched as everyone began to walk back downstairs, and she reached out to tap the Doctor on his shoulder, her meek and timid self coming back. 

“I’m really sorry,” she began. “It really is just part of the notes about this place. I didn’t -”

“Mona,” Rose said, “It’s okay. If anything it just tells us we’re on the right track, yeah?” 

She nodded, still nervous, and the Doctor glanced over at a hallway as they kept walking back downstairs. 

They explored more rooms, and Gwen and Mickey were working to look through the databases again from this server. Ianto and Martha were looking through some closets, and Donna was in the kitchens, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary there. Rose and the Doctor had their sonic screwdrivers out, walking back upstairs, when a door caught Rose’s eye. 

She tried to unlock it, but the sonic couldn’t do it, and her brow furrowed. 

“MONA?!” she shouted, and she waited while the quiet woman came upstairs, and everyone else was following along behind her. “Why is this door closed?” 

“That’s not a door,” she said, confused. “It’s just a carving in the wall.” 

“This is definitely a door,” Rose said. “See? That looks like a doorknob... “ 

“What?” Mona asked, taking a closer look at the wall.

“It sort of just looks like a carving to me too, Rose,” Martha said, and Rose sighed. 

“Instincts. That’s a door, and that is a knob,” she said. 

The Doctor looked at it, trusting her above everyone and everything else, brushing his hand along the engravings. It was well disguised, and he had to hand it to the Queen, assuming whatever was back here was something she wanted to hide. He took a deep breath, and Mona put some glasses on her nose, trying to see what Rose saw, but they all had to sort of accept that this was a time when her instincts just knew better, and the Doctor took a step back. 

“We can’t get in,” he muttered. Rose was nibbling on her lip, when she spotted the outline of the moon etched deeply into the wood, and her heart skipped a beat. 

“Yes, we can,” she said. “Baby, look.” 

She was too focused to notice the look on Jack's face when he heard her refer to the Doctor as 'baby', and the Doctor followed her finger, which was pointing at a small opening so easy to miss he had to look twice. He stared at her for a moment, his breathing growing shallow. 

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the key they had just found. 

“It can’t be that easy, can it?” he asked Rose, who just watched as he slipped the key in the lock and twisted until it clicked, and he pushed the door open, revealing a room that had been entirely untouched by the renovations. 

The library. 

"Most of the books are gone," Rose noticed. 

“Yeah,” the Doctor said, letting the others in before he closed the door. 

They all looked around, and the Doctor was too curious not to lick the wall briefly, earning himself a glare from his wife. He sighed. 

“Oil of the mistletoe, it’s still there,” he murmured, and Jack raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Did you just...lick that?” he asked, his eyes darting to Rose, silently asking if he was so thorough with his tongue in other ways, and she blushed. The Doctor pointed a finger at him. 

“Don’t start,” he said, and Jack burst into laughter as Ianto nudged his side. Mona was standing in the doorway, entirely confused, and Martha, Mickey, and Donna were already exploring the shelves, trying to see what they might be able to find. 

Gwen walked in with a laptop, still searching the servers again in case there was anything new, but she wanted to make sure she didn’t miss anything either. She took a seat on one of the old chairs, staring at the screen, and the Doctor felt his wheels turning. 

“You’ve really never been in here?” the Doctor asked Mona, who shook her head. 

“No,” she said. 

“Doctor,” Rose said, who was staring at the back of the wall at the empty bookshelves. The Doctor walked over to her, holding out his sonic screwdriver and scanning. “This shelf is clean. All the others are covered in dust.” 

Everyone’s eyes shifted over to them, and the Doctor ran his hand along the bookcase, confirming what Rose had just said. “Someone was here.” 

“Recently,” Rose said. “Gwen, can you check security cameras?” 

Mona crossed over to her, peering over her shoulder as Gwen suddenly switched tasks, going back through tapes. “This may take a bit. I’ll let you know.” 

“There’s no dust at all?” Mona asked, and Rose shook her head. “It must have been in the last day or so, then, no?” 

“While you were at the party, Mona...” Martha said. “Someone must have known you'd be there and the place would be empty.” 

“But I haven’t been here in a week,” Mona countered, her face draining of color. 

“Yeah, but you could have come back whenever, right?” Martha said. “If they waited until Pete’s birthday, they would know for sure you would be too busy to possibly stop by.” 

“Brilliant,” the Doctor said, beaming at Martha. Jack just looked at her. 

“You and I should talk,” he said with a wink, and Mickey kissed her. 

Rose and the Doctor both smiled. 

“Oi,” Donna said, “Anyone else find the books left weird?” 

“What do you mean?” Mona asked, and Donna dropped a few of the texts on the ground with a thud. The Doctor smirked at her. 

“You know those are like two hundred years old, right?” he teased, and she rolled her eyes. 

“Look,” she said. He pulled his glasses out of his pocket and picked one up, looking it over. His brow furrowed. “See what I mean?” 

“Children's books…” he muttered, his hearts dropping to his stomach. 

The entire room stopped what they were doing. 

“What?” Rose whispered, and he looked at her, handing her the book. He picked up another one as she read the cover of a children’s book that had been disguised to look like an old leather bound text, and she let our a breath. “Do they have Alice in Wonderland?” 

Her voice was barely above a whisper, and everyone looked at each other carefully. 

“I don’t -” Donna started to say. 

“Just check,” Rose said, snapping a little. Donna stared at her. 

“Okay,” she said, and the Doctor was trying to remember to breathe as he pulled Rose into a hug. 

_It’s okay._

_They...Doctor…_

_It’s okay. Shhh._

Rose felt anger begin to brew inside of her for the first time since Robert made those threats, her instincts telling her this room was somehow meant for her and Alice, and she looked over at Mona. 

“How did you not know this was here?” she said. 

“I...I, Rose, I just thought it was a carving. Some picture or something, I'm sorry,” she said, the fire in Rose's eyes frightening her. “I swear.” 

Rose didn’t say anything, aware that this wasn’t Mona’s fault, but she just needed to yell and she was trying so hard not to. 

“Rose,” the Doctor said, and she crossed over to the shelves herself, searching for a copy of _Alice in Wonderland_ alongside Donna. 

“Wait, here's something,” Gwen said, and she flipped the laptop around. “Last night. Sometime between 9pm and midnight.” 

“You can’t see anything, it’s too dark,” Mickey said, and Gwen nodded. 

“Just give it a second,” she said. 

“Oh my God...Is someone watching me?” Mona asked. “Martha, you said...You said whoever this is -” 

“Mona, shhhh,” Jack said, and Gwen glared at him. 

“She’s doing all of us a big favor you know, bringing us here,” Gwen said. Jack sighed. 

“This isn’t about her right now,” he muttered, glancing over at Rose, who was staring at the screen a few feet back, her arms crossed. Gwen sighed. 

“Fine,” she said. “You're right...Here, watch.” 

The camera in the entry hall caught a glimpse of a figure in a wolf’s hood sneaking upstairs, returning twenty minutes later holding a large book, and the Doctor ran to the screen. 

“Pause that,” he said. Gwen did, and he sniffed. “Mickey, can you -” 

“Be the tin dog? Course,” he said with a wink, and he took the laptop from Gwen, trying to increase the quality of the image. “That’s as good as I can get, you wanna do that scan thing you and Rose did at Void Corps?”

“Let me,” Rose said, needing to feel useful at the moment, and they all stood aside and let her as she adjusted the pixels even more, and she felt the Doctor wrap his arm around her. “They were smart. They looked down the whole time. Can't see their face.” 

“What book are they holding?” Donna asked, and they all looked carefully. 

It was a large leather bound copy of _Alice in Wonderland,_ and Rose felt _rage._

She couldn’t even process how quickly it snuck up on her. All she knew was she was Mama Wolf, and someone was trying to mess with her cub. 

She was livid. 

The Doctor, feeling rather angry himself, shut down every bit of his emotions when he sensed how Rose was handling this through their many bonds, and he took a deep breath. 

“I know that look,” Jack said slowly. “What are you thinking?” 

“That there is more in that book than madness,” the Doctor whispered. “Just...keep searching. See if there is anything they might’ve left behind. Please.”

Mona watched as Gwen returned to scanning the server for files and Jack, Ianto, Donna, Martha, and Mickey were looking through every single children’s book that was still on the shelf. 

Rose was standing with her eyes closed, trying to calm down. The Doctor looked at her carefully. 

“Hey,” he whispered. “We’re smarter than whoever that is, yeah?” 

“Not worried about that,” she said under her breath. “I’m just... so fucking angry. That they think can use her for whatever their stupid plan with these stupid wolves is. That they've still been watching....I’m just…” 

She stormed out of the room for a moment, and he felt his stomach twist when he heard her curse again, aware it was a sign of just how angry she was. 

Her own storm was showing. 

“Go,” Jack said, and the Doctor followed her out as their friends continued to search, and he found her pacing the entry hall, about to hyperventilate. 

“Rose, stop” he said, trying to pull her into a hug, but she just turned sharply at him, tears spilling over. 

“HOW ARE YOU NOT ANGRY?!” she screamed, and he clenched his jaw. 

“I never said I wasn’t,” he told her, and she just let out a sob, so furious crying was all her body was able to do. He felt his throat tighten at the sight and he took a deep breath. “Rose, I am...irate, alright? But we had a feeling all of this connected to her somehow. Now we know we were right and -” 

“No, we don’t,” she snapped. “We still don’t know shit, Doctor. And I -” 

“We’re going to stop them, Rose. Whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re planning, we’re going to -” he said, and she just knocked a pot of flowers off of a table. 

He had never seen her like this, and it was startling him. He couldn't blame her, of course, and somewhere in the back of his mind he registered that she hadn’t been sleeping very well due to the size of her belly and she was probably feeling a little exhausted. She had snapped at everyone the night before over something as trivial as sitting on the couch, and he knew her hormones had been in flux. He knew, or at least he suspected, that this wasn’t exactly the rational side of his wife he was looking at, but a scared mother-to-be, and it broke his hearts. 

“Keep going,” he said. “Go ahead.”

“What?” she asked, tears still spilling over. 

“Mona?” the Doctor called, and she popped her head out of the door, taken aback at the mess that was Rose Tyler at the moment. “You okay if we break some things?” 

“Umm...sure,” she said. 

“Great,” he said, and he pushed over an old statue stand he remembered used to have a bust of Robert on it. Rose stared at him, and he looked around the room. “Go on.”

“Don’t be daft,” she said, sniffing her tears back. He sighed. 

“It’s okay to be mad, Rose, but we can’t let it cloud our judgement. You say that to me all the time, remember?” he whispered. She groaned, realizing he was making a point, and her face collapsed into her hands as she broke down into a full new set of sobs. 

For a moment, all their friends stood in the archway of the library, before Donna hit all of them on the arm. 

“Oi, leave ‘em alone, keep searching,” she hissed, sharing a glance with the Doctor as he pulled Rose to his chest, both leaning against the wall. Her blocks were up, far too upset to even think about letting him in, and he let her cry, unsure of what else he could possibly do. 

He felt his own anger knocking on his hearts, his storm desperate to be unleashed, and he kept it all bottled up. 

“I love you,” he whispered. “She’s going to be fine.” 

“I know she is,” Rose said. “It’s not that. Not really. I just...” 

“I know it isn’t,” he said, pressing his lips to her hair. “They are not going to get away with this, Rose. I promise.” 

She took a deep breath, and he rubbed her back, feeling her emotions start to even out, the hum in his head growing less incessant and her heartbeat in his ring slowing. He waited a few more minutes, and when she was no longer crying he cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her, brushing the tear stains away with his lips, and she leaned into his touch. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry,” she whispered. “That scared me.” 

“Welcome to my world,” he joked, and she let out a small, pained laugh as he wrapped his arms around her fully. “Do you want to go back in? See if they found anything else?” 

Rose fluttered her lips and nodded, not caring how blotchy her skin might be or how puffy her eyes had become as she got a grip, and she held the Doctor’s hand as they joined their friends, all still working. 

Mona looked terrified, realizing there was a reason these two had such a reputation, and no one asked questions. They had heard everything. 

“The rest of the books are just...books,” Martha said, figuring her friends would just want to get back on track. Rose nodded. 

“I’m sorry, I…” she said, and Jack pulled her into a hug. 

“Don’t you dare apologize, Rose,” he said, and the Doctor looked down at his feet. Jack not calling her ‘Rosie’ did not go unnoticed by any of them, and she sighed, clinging to him for a moment. “That’s your kid. You have every right to want to scream, okay?” 

She bit her lip, unable to speak for a moment as Jack pulled away, and Donna was watching the Doctor, aware he hadn’t been able to process how he was feeling, and he just shook his head at her, not wanting to get into it. She sighed. 

“Gwen is still working on facial recognition something or other,” Ianto said, and Rose nodded. 

“Thank you,” she said. Mona was walking around the room, feeling a lot of different things, and she sat down on an old chair. 

“Someone has been coming here all this time,” she whispered. “Just...breaking in and setting up this space...haven’t they? For whatever they have planned?” 

No one said anything, and the Doctor sniffed, still trying not to get upset, and Rose closed her eyes. 

Martha and Mickey were leaning on each other, desperately wanting to make their friends feel better, and no one knew what to say. 

Rose sighed, and she looked over at the bookshelves again, crossing to them and giving them another look. The air in the room felt heavy, and Rose took a step, when suddenly the floor made a creaking sound, and she glanced down, her instincts taking over her emotions for a moment. 

She pulled out her sonic screwdriver and scanned, trying to see if she got a reading, but she remembered the floor was wood and she tucked it back in her pocket, supporting herself on the shelves as she knelt down. 

“Rose, I can do that,” the Doctor said, and she ignored him, running her hand along the grain of the wood. 

She heard it creak again and she brought her finger over to the bookshelf, looking around, something inside of her telling her not to give up, when she spotted a symbol on the floor, hidden by most of the bookshelf. 

“Caspian’s Song…” she whispered. “Doctor -” 

He was already kneeling next to her, and he clenched his jaw as he he looked at the floor. 

“I need something to pull this board up. A...I don’t know a crowbar or -” he said, and Mickey furrowed his brow. 

“Use the sonic,” he said. 

“Just get me a damn crowbar!” he shouted, accidentally letting his own anger slip through, and Rose stared at him. He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry…” 

“No, mate, it’s okay,” Mickey said. “Mona, where is the supply closet or -” 

“I’ll take you,” she said, and everyone looked at each other for a moment as the Doctor leaned back onto his bum, running his hands through his hair. 

“Doc, just yell, it’s fine,” Jack said. He shook his head. 

“No…” he muttered. “Can’t.” 

Rose felt her throat tighten and she looked down at her belly, feeling guilty for reacting the way she did earlier, and she glanced over at Martha and Donna, who came to sit by both of them. 

No one spoke. 

Ten minutes went by before Mona and Mickey returned, and he handed the Doctor some sort of tool that was similar enough to a crowbar it allowed him to tuck part of it under the wood, and he barely had to push on it before the whole thing popped up. 

He was stronger than he looked. 

He tossed the bar to the side and grabbed his screwdriver, using it to illuminate the space as he laid on his stomach and rummaged around under the floorboard. He grabbed a large box, pulling it out and holding it in his lap. 

Rose watched him carefully as he opened it, and he locked eyes with her, immediately closing it. 

“What is it?” Martha asked. He started to grind his teeth. 

“Nothing,” he said. “Empty.” 

“Doctor,” Donna said, everyone aware he was lying, but he gave them all a pleading look, and they shut up. Rose wasn’t breathing. 

_There’s Gallifreyan texts in here._

She felt incredibly dizzy, and he leaned his body against her, catching her before she grew faint. 

“This is weird…” Gwen muttered to herself, and everyone looked over at her. “Sorry, ignore me.” 

“Not after you just said ‘this is weird,” Jack said, crossing to stand behind her shoulder. “What?” 

“Just...there’s an entire layer of encrypted files,” she said. “We didn’t see these before did we?” 

“No,” Mickey said. “Can I take a look?” 

Gwen passed him the computer, and the Doctor took a deep breath. 

_Are you alright?_

_No. You?_

_No._

They looked at each other as Mickey typed away furiously, and he let out a sound of triumph when he made it in. 

“Doctor, get over here,” he said, and suddenly everyone was gathered around. The Doctor helped Rose stand then gripped her waist as they all looked, and Mickey shook his head. 

“Words, Mickey, what are we looking at?” Martha asked, and he just sighed. 

“Files for Torchwood 2 between 1880 and 1912 had a secondary code in them. It unlocked new data that wasn’t accessible or even noticed by the server in Cardiff… Doctor, I’m so sorry, I should have -” he said, and the Doctor just brushed it off. 

“It’s fine, what did you find?” he asked urgently, and Mickey’s face hardened. 

“Well, that’s just it…” he said. “It’s been wiped.” 

“Brilliant.” the Doctor muttered, running a hand over his face. 

“They wouldn’t just erase it though, would they?” Mona asked. “Don’t you think whoever did it would have kept a copy somewhere?” 

They all turned and looked at her. She was once again playing with the hem of her shirt, and Rose smiled at her, watching as she instantly eased. 

“Mickey, can you see when the wipe happened?” Rose asked, her instincts awake. He typed a bit more, digging and looking at codes, and he frowned. 

“1989,” he said. 

“That’s when Patrick died,” the Doctor said, and Rose just looked at him. 

“So, now the question is was this an inside job or did someone hack in?” she whispered, and the Doctor traced her face with his eyes. 

“Anything else, Mickey?” Donna asked, and he shook his head. 

“No,” he said. “But I think Mona is right. I wouldn’t just delete something that was that hard to access unless I kept a copy somewhere. Probably a hard copy...” 

“Thank you,” Mona said, and Mickey just nodded at her. 

“What do you two want to do?” Jack asked carefully, turning to his two best friends. Rose just sighed. 

“I want...chips,” she said, and Donna smirked a little. “And then just...dissect it all, I think. My head hurts.” 

“What?” the Doctor asked, concerned, and she shook her head. 

“Not like that, promise,” she assured him. Mona averted her eyes when she saw him kiss her, a rather tender kiss that made Donna smile sadly and Martha look at Mickey, everyone aware their friends were...processing. 

“Gwen, do me a favor?” the Doctor asked. “Print a picture of the wolf’s hood from the security camera?” 

“You got it,” she said, and he nodded. 

“I think we’re done,” he said. “And I’m sure whoever has those files will know we were snooping. We should go.” 

“Right,” Jack said, and Gwen quickly printed what the Doctor asked for while he grabbed the box and discreetly tucked it into his suit pocket, his eyes lingering on Rose. 

“Are you alright?” Martha whispered in her ear, and Rose just gave her a small smile. 

“Trying to be,” she said. “I’m glad you were both here.” 

“Us too,” Donna said, and they all hugged each other as the Doctor took one last look around the room, and Gwen walked over to the printer back in the main office. 

They all met at the TARDIS less than five minutes later, and the Doctor had no way of knowing that just as he pulled the lever, desperately wanting to talk to Rose, a black car pulled up to the Estate, and a figure in a hood stepped out. 

They dialed a number, and they left a voicemail. 

“It’s me. They were here. Call me back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh goodness. The end of this story was begging me to write it and so I did. This is what I would consider the turning point of the main plot. Hope you all liked it. Next one will be out by the end of the week. Thank you for reading, reviewing, subscribing, or leaving kudos! :)
> 
> Also, I believe in canon Torchwood 2 is technically a different building, but for the sake of this story its all part of the Torchwood Estate!

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't know how they met Mona or Ianto, you can find it in the story "Not From Mars." Thank you!


End file.
